Inconceivably yesterday, more than a day after the beginning of the surprise murderous and inhuman attack by Hamas human animals, the IDF and security forces were unable to gain full control of Israeli territory, and the fighting continued in several locations throughout the day.
Because of the great chaos, the situation is still unclear even to the top echelons of the army, but it is clear to everyone that hundreds of civilians were massacred and slaughtered, and many dozens of soldiers and commanders, including senior officials, fell in battle. But the most shocking and heartbreaking thing is that dozens of women, men, children, the elderly, soldiers and women were kidnapped into the heart of the Gaza Strip, without the great IDF being able to anticipate it, stop the invasion or take control of the terrorists.
The failures that cry out to the sky – including the lack of intelligence warning, the collapse of the concept, the collapse of the defense system of the Gaza Division – will still be written in fat and thick volumes, and many commissions of inquiry will be established. But there is no doubt that these events, which the IDF insists on calling "iron swords," will have far-reaching consequences.
Direct hit on a building in Ashkelon // Photo: Shmuel Buchris
Just as the chief of staff and the army leadership took time to understand that they were in a very serious situation vis-à-vis the thousands of refuseniks who announced that they did not intend to report for reserve duty due to the government's moves, this time too the army's top brass did not understand the magnitude of the incident, and the harsh response has not yet arrived.
Victory is needed, not a "victory picture"
After the IDF recovered somewhat from the initial shock, the army began distributing videos of buildings attacked in Gaza and reporting hundreds of attacks, but the truth is that when hundreds of civilians and soldiers are killed and kidnapped, no one is interested in another empty Hamas target or headquarters hit by the air. As of yesterday, the goals of the declared war were still unclear. The IDF Spokesperson was asked what the goals of the war were, and his answer was that the political echelon would determine (in future terms) the objectives, and in the meantime the goal was to achieve full control of the Gaza envelope and "exact a heavy price" from Hamas.
Soldiers at combat zones near the Gaza Strip, photo: IDF Spokesperson
If the State of Israel desires life, it will no longer be satisfied with such a vague goal as "exacting a heavy price from Hamas." After all, even in the IDF's past operations in the Gaza Strip, the army boasted of the "heavy" price it exacted from Hamas. And here we are not talking about an "operation," but about war. And not just any war, but a war for home, and we will not exaggerate if we call it even an existential war. For if Israel, which has the strongest army in the Middle East, does not exert all its might against the Gaza Strip immediately, Hezbollah, Iran and the rest of our evildoers will jump on the bandwagon and take advantage of it.
The only way to continue to survive in our neighborhood in the Middle East is to create a formidable "iron wall," as Jabotinsky famously put it, and show the murderous terrorist organization in Gaza that "the landlord has gone crazy." In light of the murderous attack, the political echelon must make a decision to immediately topple the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip and purge it of terrorists and weapons. In the war for life, it is no longer possible to conduct ourselves according to the familiar standards of previous operations. Here, a "victory picture" that will serve the PR campaign will not suffice, since it will not be possible to surpass Hamas' horrific opening blow. There is no choice, this time a clear and undeniable victory is required, which will be remembered for generations. If we want to survive, this is the only way.
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